Fenghuang
by cherryvvoid
Summary: And like the mighty phoenix, through fire, she was reborn. Azula's twin SI-OC.
1. Xīnshēng: Rebirth

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA but I own Xiao.**

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First came the suffocating heat-

 _It was scorching and oppressive, pressing against skin and seeping deep into muscle, it churned and breathed pure heat until finally there was a shift and it boiled down to a hissing simmer. The cool air coiled, curled, and settled inside her stomach and she sighed in relief._

-then came the screaming wails-

 _Almost echoes of each other, grating and frantic in their pitch, escaping through fresh throats into the world and she was confused._

 _Disorientation clawed through her head as her eyes opened and blurry figures raced frantically across her vision._

 _-_ and the hushed voices-

 _There were hands everywhere - touching, always touching - and she could feel the sharp talons of panic and fear crawling their way up her throat because she had been dead._

 _She knew it like that back of her hand._

 _So to be breathing - to feel her heart beating - was terrifying._

 _But not so much more so that the sensations of the untamable heat deep inside her. No, that was its own monster._

 _-_ and the low hum of pain-

 _Crowing cries fell from lips that weren't fully hers as an arm cradled her up close to a bosom and fingers drifted over her scalp._

 _There was no mistaking the feeling of her own life dripping out from her veins, Lee Raleigh had died in the back seat of that car whether she liked it or not._

 _A mouth found its way to her brow as heat once again blossomed across her skin, racing down to the tips of her toes and back up to the crown of her head_.

-and then came the realization _-_

 _And_ _despite how she wanted to denydenydeny there was no ignoring the clear fact that currently, she was alive._

 _Alive and trapped inside of the body of a hapless newborn._

-the realization that maybe, just maybe there was more to dying that what meets the eye.

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 **Fire.**

 **The phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat.**

One of the four elements of the world and if she went by the word of the nation in which she lived, it was the one that would rule them all.

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 **I have headcanons that all the nations speak different languages/dialects and common tongue is English.**

 **The Air Nation: Tibetan**

 **The Earth Nation : Cantonese (Which is a form of Chinese since both the Earth Nation and the Fire Nation are influenced by them)**

 **Fire Nation : Traditional Chinese**

 **Water Nation: Inuit or Sireniki.**

 **Common Tongue: English**

 **Here's the revised first chapter.**

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 **7/18/16**


	2. Shēnghuó: Life

**I only deleted an authors note. New chap is done. Itll be up in 4 days.**

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Staring up into the curious golden eyes of Zuko, Xiao of the Fire Nation wondered what this kid would think if he knew she wasn't supposed to be his sister.

Hell, she wondered what _anyone_ would do if they knew she wasn't supposed to be born of royal blood.

Now a year old - on this very day - and forcefully adjusted to her new life in this fictional world, the young fire princess glanced over to her twin sister and _wondered_. Watching as the tiny royal tried her hand at standing up with the help of their brother's hands, Xiao couldn't but feel vindicated because Azula was a _normal_ child.

Intelligent - extremely so - but _normal_ all the same which meant it was nature vs nurture. And nurture definitely won out in the end. She smiled when Zuko did silly things, she cried when she wanted something, and she soiled herself just like everyone else. And perhaps some of her sly and manipulative traits were naturally occurring but Xiao knew for a fact that a lot of canon Azula's personality was cultivated and enhanced by and for her father.

 _For their father._

Shuddering at the thought, the dark haired reincarnation thought to the man known as Ozai and was uneased by the fact that she had only ever caught glimpses of the man when he would visit late at night. It was strange to her - because why not just visit in the morning? And why hasn't any other family been through to see them? It was almost like they were being locked away or something and Xiao would be raising a stink if she didn't think that seclusion was safer than the outside world.

Besides, according to what their mother has been saying for the past few weeks, the two of them would be making their debut soon.

As in _today_ soon.

Resisting the urge to fidget nervously, Xiao blinked her golden eyes and turned them upwards to observe the gently smiling woman standing just over Zuko's shoulder.

Lady Ursa was such a kind and caring soul that it was almost a wonder that she fell in love with Ozai at all. But she guessed the man was charming enough to have won her hand in marriage and Xiao could easily admit the man had charisma - his brief appearances in the series showcased as much. Sighing to herself as she watched Azula coo and hem at the Fire Lady to be picked up, the third born heir sat there and wondered just who her sister would have been if both mother and daughter fostered this kind of relationship well into the future. She wondered where Azula's mindset would have been like if both of them knew how much they loved each other.

She wondered who Azula would be if Ozai hadn't sunk his claws into her. And she wondered what kind of relationship Zuko and Azula would have if neither were jealous of the other - because rest assured, they both coveted things that they shouldn't have to.

 _Like a parent's love._

And personal ability - she couldn't forget that her brother was embittered over Azula's natural ability and frankly Xiao thought that was sad because she was so sure - so very fucking sure - that Azula only wanted to impress Zuko at one point. He was her older sibling and if this was how they acted in canon, then it was more than likely that seeing her brother's anger with her talent and early bending - when Zuko himself had been a late bloomer - Azula reacted with just as much vitriol.

Hell, that was what _Xiao_ would have done if one of her past siblings had spat on her accomplishments when all she wanted their support and encouragements. She would have positively _petty_ about it in retaliation and she knew that was _exactly_ what Azula had done. And if there was at least one thing Xiao would be able to change, it was the relationship between Zuko and her twin. For the better or worse she didn't know, but she had to try all the same.

Jolting out of her thoughts at the knock at the door, she glanced over to the left and spied a harried looking servant who bowed deeply at the waist and promptly started damn near shouting in Chinese.

Xiao thanked her lucky stars that after she had been adopted that she kept her native tongue close to her heart else she might've been completely fucked.

"Queen Ursa," The girl announced from the doorway. "the seamstresses have finished with the princesses' outfits for their _zhuazhou_."

Her mother looked pleased and it made her whole face glow.

"Of course," She soothed as she set Azula back into the crib. "tell Aung to deliver them here and have two baths prepared, it's time to ready my daughters for the celebration."

The servant bowed once again and idly Xiao wondered if going that low made her back hurt.

"As you wish my Lady." The girl acquiesced before she swept from the room and with a hum their mother bent down and pressed a kiss to both of their foreheads.

"Come Zuko, we must ready our own selves." Ursa called as she moved towards the door and said boy pouted before doing as the woman bid.

"But I didn't get to play with Xiao!" He just about whined and the reincarnation felt her heart swell like the Grinch's did when the people of Whoville accepted him.

Ursa gave a warm chuckle and ruffled her son's dark hair as the guards standing outside pulled the door open.

"You can do that later tonight." She soothed as she led the reluctant boy out from their room and down the hall. "I'm sure Xiao will enjoy it just as much then as she would now."

And as the ornate chamber entrance swung closed whatever Zuko may have said in reply was lost to her and with a blink, she turned to face a preoccupied Azula who was now attempting to grab at the expensive looking mobile hanging above them.

Making sure to keep an eye on her - lest she hurt herself - Xiao let her mind drift.

There were things about this world she hadn't known until she got here. The show had shown them that everyone conceivably spoke English and only that but in all reality, they didn't. In fact, she had heard a total of _three_ different languages since she had ended up here and only two of them she could understand - both of which being English and Chinese respectively. Only here they were called Common tongue and _Huǒ jiǎnghuà_ or Fire Speech. It wasn't very original but it made sense she supposed.

After all, it _was_ spoken in the Fire Nation so it wasn't incorrectly named.

Startling when she heard the door open and shut soundly, she saw Azula wobble in place and when fell on her bottom the girl shot the cot beneath them a pouting frown. Internally snorting, Xiao turned her attention from her sister and over to the servants entering the room with two golden rubs of scented water and reluctantly the reincarnation could admit that such luxury was pretty amazing. What could she say? It was nice to know how the other half lived.

Lifting her hands, she patiently waited to be picked up and only felt a bit uncomfortable when she was undressed and set into the warm liquid. Well, warm to _her_ and people like her. It was probably more left of scalding but to Fire Nation natives, the heat wasn't an obstacle. She had learned that lesson when a servant who from some far off land attempted to fetch Azula's dropped toy from the watery recesses after they had been taken out and dried off.

Needless the say the woman probably wished she hadn't done that and spared herself the agony.

Sighing a bit as she was set into the shallow basin, Xiao relaxed as they wet her dark hair and poured all kinds of fragrant oils and butters down on her scalp and skin. The handmaidens were exceedingly gentle and made sure to cause as little to no discomfort as they could and for that Xiao was grateful. She didn't need pain on top of the awkward that came with being washed by a complete stranger.

Lifted from the tub after being thoroughly washed - she would never look upon these memories with fondness - Xiao was wrapped in a silk soft towel and artfully wiped dry.

Moisturized and five different kinds of lotions, the young royal glanced over at Azula and saw that her attendants were putting her in undergarments just like with her and she distantly wondered how hard they practiced in order to move in sync perfectly.

Switching her gaze back over to the woman servicing her, Xiao's eyes widened when she took in the outfit her mother commissioned for her. It was the typical deep red of most Fire Nation garb but the golden accents were far more pronounced and the little slippers that went with the ornate miniature hanfu - _which was strange because here, they didn't call it hanfu, it was just traditional Fire Nation garb_ \- matched the bright highlights on her Chinese kimono.

Putting it on was entirely too complicated and she was glad that she had others to help her out, else she might never get dressed.

Sometimes she sincerely missed jeans and t-shirts.

Feeling a soft bristled brush sweep through her surprisingly long locks - it was already mid back - she resisted the urge to touch the two newly decorated and pinned buns on either side of her head. They felt kind of heavy but it wasn't cumbersome and she was sure they looked aesthetically pleasing - after all, physical attractiveness seemed to be especially sought after and even more so for the upper class.

Finally dressed, she turned her head when she felt Azula being sat directly next to her and at the little coo coming from the woman gathered around them she faced toward and jolted at the sight of herself and her sister in the mirror held out directly in front of them.

Xiao had never actually seen her reflection before today but since it was said that Azula was her twin she assumed they looked alike.

 _And boy was she right._

They were absolutely identical, down from the crown of their heads to the tips of their toes Xiao and Azula were mirror images of each other.

It was almost freaky.

Glancing over to Azula - who seemed a bit curious and uneased by the sight - she nodded to herself.

At least she wasn't the only one unsettled.

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 **Zhuazhou - first grab celebration: Zhuazhou is a ritual held at a child's first birthday party. The parents put various objects before the child. The thing they choose is used to forecast their future.**

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 **I'm back! I'm so sorry this new chapter took so long! I had writers block to the extreme. I sincerely apologize but thank you all for sticking with me regardless. I hope to continue to update frequently.**

 **So Xiao is used to her new life somewhat. Next chapter we meet Ozai, Iroh, Lu Ten, and Azulon.**

 **I'm actually so excited for this story to move on and world build.**

 **Please review, it's motivation!**


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